Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Our Experience as Production Assistants in New York

Sharee and I began our PA experience for Day 1 in Brooklyn. We first met the make-up artist, Mercedes, and then the other crew as we entered the spacious apartment overlooking the Williamsburg Bridge. The short film, Tell Me The Truth, was a labor of love written by Gena K. It was also her fiction directorial debut. Sharee and I ran a few errands at the local mini marts, picked-up pizza for dinner, and shadowed the script supervisor. A script supervisor basically takes notes during each take of filming on atmosphere (disrupted sounds- car honk, train, etc), actors positions that may have changed from one take to the next, or changes in lines.
The Williamsburg Bridge


Day 2 was in New York's Upper East Side on Park Avenue. We ran similar errands to the mini-mart, but spent the majority of our time in the role as script supervisor for Camera B, and set dressing/prop placement. Sharee also took on the primary role as “clapper” once the shot was rolling. She yelled out scene number and number of takes prior to Gena K's louder proclamation - “Action”. Most takes were 2-3 per scene; yet a few were half a dozen or more.

The film had an excellent ensemble of actors, and the crew were more than willing to share their knowledge when asked. We would like thank everyone we worked with on the set, especially Chrystal (AD), David (Producer), Samantha (Art Director), Theresa (Script Supervisor/PA), Mercedes (Make-up Artist), Roxy (PA), Eric (Gaffer/Grip), Brian (DP/Camera Operator A), and Karim (Camera Operator B). Xavier came on board during Day 2 and had multiple roles as PA and Boom Operator. He is also a talented full-time actor in NYC. Check out the hyperlinks of the crew noted above to find out more information about them.


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